Best Credit Cards for Groceries in Canada
What You Should Know
- Credit cards in Canada offer up to 5% back in rewards on grocery shopping.
- Not all stores that sell groceries are categorized as groceries by credit card networks.
- Not all grocery stores accept all types of credit cards.
- Costco is not categorized as a grocery store by credit card networks.
- Walmart is not recognized as a grocery store by credit card networks; however, Walmart supercenters are recognized as grocery stores by Mastercard.
- You can find out if a store is categorized as a grocery store through its assigned merchant code.
Groceries account for a substantial part of the monthly expenses of an average Canadian. With inflation adding to this expense, there may not be a better time to get a credit card that offers rewards on groceries. In Canada, you may be able to earn rewards in the form of reward points or cash back at your local grocery store by getting a card which is accepted there.
However, it is noteworthy that your grocery store may not be recognized by your credit card network as a grocery. For example, you may be stocking up on your essentials in bulk from Costco to save money; however, Costco is not recognized as a grocery store by credit card networks, so you may not be able to double down on the savings. We have listed some of the best credit cards for groceries below.
Our Top Picks
Best Credit Cards for Rewards Points at Groceries — Scotia Gold AMEX, AMEX Cobalt
Best Cash Back Credit Card for Groceries — Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite
Best Cash Back Credit Cards for Gas + Groceries — CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite
Best Credit Cards for Loblaws Banner Companies — BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard, PC World Elite Mastercard
Best Credit Card for Walmart Supercentre — BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard
Best Credit Card for Walmart (other than Supercentre) — SimplyCash Preferred Card
Best Credit Card for Costco — Rogers World Elite Mastercard
Best No Fee Credit Card for Groceries — BMO Cash Back Mastercard
| Credit Card | Annual Fee | Rate of Rewards on Grocery |
| Amex Cobalt | $155.88 |
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| Scotiabank Gold American Express Card | $120 (first-year waived) |
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| SimplyCash Preferred Card from Amex | $119.88 |
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| CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite | $120 (first-year waived) |
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| Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite | $120 (first-year waived) |
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| BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard | $120 (first-year waived) |
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| PC World Elite Mastercard | $0 |
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| BMO Cash Back Mastercard | $0 |
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| Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card | $0 |
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| Rogers World Elite Mastercard | $0 |
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Best Credit Cards for Reward Points at Groceries
American Express Cobalt
21.99% on cash advances
- 5X reward points for eligible food and drinks purchases (including grocery).
- 3X reward points for eligible streaming subscriptions.
- 2X reward points for eligible gas, transit and travel purchases.
- AMEX Experiences - AMEX Offers, AMEX Front of the Line, American Express Invites.
- $100 USD Hotel Credit to spend on hotel amenities.
- Mobile Device Insurance - $1,000
- Travel Accident Insurance - $250,000
- Out-of-Province Emergency Medical Insurance - 15 days for cardholders under the age of 65
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- No minimum income requirement
Scotiabank Gold AMEX Card
22.99% on cash advances
- 6X Scene+ points on groceries including Sobeys, IGA, Safeway, Foodland, FreshCo and more.
- 5X Scene+ points on eligible grocery, food, food subscription and entertainment purchases (Including Hello Fresh, SkipTheDishes, Chef’s Plate and Cineplex).
- 3X Scene+ points on eligible gas, daily transit and streaming service purchases (Including Uber and Netflix).
- 0% Foreign transaction fee.
- AMEX benefits - AMEX Offers, AMEX Front of the Line, American Express Invites.
- 24/7 Complimentary Concierge.
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Out-of-Province Emergency Medical Insurance - 25 days for cardholders under the age of 65, 3 days for cardholders over the age of 65
- Rental Car Collision/Damage Insurance - up to 48 days
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Have not declared bankruptcy in the past 7 years.
- Earn a minimum of $1,000 monthly gross income.
Best Credit Cards for Cash Back at Groceries
SimplyCash Preferred Card from American Express
21.99% on cash advances
- Earn up to $400 in the first 10 months.
- 4% cash back on gas.
- 4% cash back grocery (up to $1,200 cash back annually).
- AMEX Experiences - AMEX Offers, AMEX Front of the Line, American Express Invites.
- Annual referral bonus of up to $1,500
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Out-of-Province Emergency Medical Insurance - 25 days for cardholders under the age of 65, 3 days for cardholders over the age of 65
- Rental Car Collision/Damage Insurance
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Have a credit file.
- No minimum income specified.
CIBC Dividend Visa Infinite Card
22.99% on cash advances (21.99% for Quebec residents)
- 4% cash back on gas and groceries.
- 2% cash back on transit, dining and recurring payments.
- 1% cash back on everything else.
- Save up to 10¢ per litre at participating Pioneer, Fas Gas, Ultramar and Chevron gas stations by linking your card with Journie Rewards.
- Visa Infinite benefits such as access to Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, Visa Infinite Dining Series and Visa Infinite Concierge.
- Up to 25% off on auto rentals at participating Budget and Avis locations.
- Common Carrier Accident Insurance
- Out-of-Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance
- Rental Car Collision/Damage Insurance
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum annual income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite Card
22.99% on cash advances
- 10% cash back up to $200 for the first 3 months.
- 4% cash back on grocery and recurring payments.
- 2% cash back on gas and transit.
- Visa Infinite benefits such as access to Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection, Visa Infinite Dining Series and Visa Infinite Concierge.
- Up to 25% off on auto rentals at participating Budget and Avis locations.
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Out-of-Province Emergency Medical Insurance
- Rental Car Collision/Damage Insurance
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum annual income of $60,000 or household income of $100,000.
BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard
23.99% on cash advances (21.99% for Quebec residents)
- 5% cash back on eligible grocery purchases (up to $500 monthly spend).
- 4% cash back on transit.
- 3% cash back on gas and EV charging.
- Free global wi-fi with Boingo.
- Complimentary Mastercard Travel Pass membership provided by DragonPass (no complimentary lounge visits).
- Up to 25% off on car rentals at participating National and Alamo locations.
- Common Carrier Accident Insurance
- Out-of-Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance
- Rental Car Collision/Damage Insurance
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum annual income of $80,000 or household income of $150,000.
Check out other Cash Back Credit Cards.
No Fee Rewards Credit Cards for Groceries
BMO Cash Back Mastercard
22.99% on cash advances (21.99% in Quebec)
- 3% cash back on eligible grocery purchases (for up to $500 spent every month).
- 1% cash back on all recurring bill payments.
- 0.5% cash back on all other eligible purchases.
- 0.99% introductory interest rate on balance transfers for 9 months(2% transfer fee).
- Up to 25% off on car rentals at participating National and Alamo locations.
- 15% off on Cirque Du Soleil show tickets and 20% off on resident shows in Las Vegas.
- Purchase Protection
- Extended Warranty
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- You haven’t declared bankruptcy in the last 7 years.
- No minimum income requirement specified.
PC World Elite Mastercard
22.97% on cash advances (21.97% for Quebec Residents)
- 45 reward points per $1 at Shoppers Drug Mart.
- 30 reward points per 1 litre fuel at Esso and Mobil.
- 30 reward points per $1 at Loblaws, No Frills and Real Canadian Superstore.
- Extra points on select products (often advertised in weekly flyers).
- Mastercard Global Service.
- 24/7 Concierge Service over phone.
- Rental car collision/damage insurance.
- Travel Emergency Medical Insurance.
- Purchase Protection for 90 days after purchase.
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum personal income of $80,000 or annual household income of $150,000.
Tangerine Money Back Credit Card
19.95% on cash advances
- 2% money-back in two (three if you have a Tangerine Savings account) categories of your choice.
- 0.5% money-back on all other everyday purchases.
- Redeem money-back rewards in the savings account or apply to credit card balance.
- 1.95% interest for six months on balance transfer within the first 30 days.
- Purchase Protection for 90 days after purchase.
- Extended Warranty doubles for up to 1 year.
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum annual Income of $12,000.
Rogers World Elite Mastercard
22.99% on cash advances
- 1.5% cash back on all eligible purchases.
- 3% cash back on purchases in U.S. dollars.
- Free membership of the Mastercard Travel Pass provided by DragonPass (no complimentary visits).
- Travel emergency medical insurance
- Car rental collision/damage insurance
- Trip interruption and trip cancellation insurance
- Canadian Resident having reached mature age in the province of residence.
- Minimum personal income of $80,000 or annual household income of $150,000.
Check out other credit cards offered by Rogers.
Cash Back Vs Reward Points
Cash Back: Cash back rewards are straightforward. If the cash back rate for a card is 4% on groceries, you earn 4% cash back on every purchase that qualifies as a grocery purchase. The cash back rewards are accumulated in your account which can be redeemed to pay off your credit. Some cards may have a minimum redemption, for example, you may require to have a minimum of $10 cash back reward balance to be able to redeem it.
Reward Points: Reward points on the other hand are not as straightforward. The redemption value of reward points usually varies depending on where you redeem them. For example, Scotia Scene+ points can be redeemed at a 1 cent per point (CPP) value for Cineplex movie tickets and partner groceries, however; if you wish to redeem the points for statement credits, you will get a value of 0.7 cents per point.
Hacks for Earning Maximum Points
Gift Cards
Grocery is a very competitive category when it comes to credit card rewards with most credit cards offering bonus rewards on shopping at grocery stores. One hack to maximize your reward points is to purchase gift cards for stores that don’t fall under the grocery category (such as Home Depot) at a grocery store. This way, you could earn more points on your non grocery purchases as well.
However, you would not get the purchase protection and extended warranty if you use this hack, which some credit cards offer when you use them for your purchases.
Order Online via Instacart
If you want to use your AMEX to buy groceries from a store that does not accept AMEX such as Loblaws or Costco, you could use the online grocery delivery service Instacart and pay using your AMEX.
What’s more is that since Instacart is categorized under grocery by credit card networks, you could earn bonus points for grocery shopping that you otherwise won’t while shopping in-store at Costco and some Walmart stores that don’t fall under the grocery category. However, you should note that some stores may offer a different price on the products and not all products may be available online.
Bottom Line
There is no one size fits all when it comes to credit cards for grocery. Some credit cards that offer great rewards on groceries may not be accepted at your local grocery store or your grocery may not qualify as a grocery as per the credit card network guidelines. A store that offers the best benefits, such as Costco, may not qualify as a grocery at all.
Another consideration should be the credit card fees. Most credit cards that offer good rewards on groceries come with an annual fee and to get the best value of these cards, your grocery expenditure should be enough to justify the fees you pay. For example, if you get the Scotia Momentum Visa Infinite only for groceries, that has an annual fee of $120 and a cash back rate of 4% on groceries, you should at least be spending $3,000 on groceries annually to be able to at least cover the credit card fees in cash back. If your grocery expenditure is very low and you mostly rely on eating out or food deliveries, you may be better off spending on a card that offers better benefits on dining and food delivery rather than on groceries. Therefore, it is best to assess your individual situation and pick a card that may be best for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walmart considered as a grocery store for rewards?
Unfortunately, not all Walmart stores are considered as grocery stores by credit card networks. While VISA and AMEX don’t categorize Walmart as groceries at all, Mastercard has categorized only Walmart Supercentres as grocery stores. If you shop for your groceries at Walmart Supercentres, you could use a mastercard such as BMO Cash Back World Elite Mastercard to earn maximum value. You could also check the National Bank World Elite Mastercard.
For all other Walmart Stores, you could use a card such as the American Express SimplyCash Preferred card that offers 2% cash back on all purchases, or the Walmart Rewards World Mastercard that offers 3% and 1.25% Walmart reward dollars on shopping online at Walmart.ca and in-store respectively.
Is Costco considered as a grocery store for rewards?
Similar to Walmart, Costco stores are also not categorized as a grocery store by credit card networks. Instead, Costco is categorized as a discount merchant and you will earn only the base cash back or reward points rate at Costco. To maximize rewards at Costco, you could get a credit card that offers a good base rewards rate such as the Rogers World Elite Mastercard that offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
What credit cards does Costco Canada accept?
Costco accepts only Mastercard credit cards for payments, apart from cash and debit cards. Costco does not accept Visa and Amex Credit cards. Considering that Costco is not categorized as a grocery store by credit card networks, you could use a mastercard that offers a high base reward rate to earn maximum rewards at Costco.
Does No Frills accept Visa?
No Frills now accepts both Visa and Mastercard Credit Cards. However, they do not accept AMEX credit cards at this time. It is also noteworthy that No Frills does not accept Mastercard Debit at this time.
What are the grocery stores that accept AMEX in Canada?
Amex cards such as the Scotia Gold Amex and American Express Cobalt offer great rewards on groceries. However, some stores do not accept AMEX for your purchases such as the Loblaws Companies stores. Some of the major Canadian groceries that accept AMEX are: Sobeys, Longo’s, IGA, FreshCo, Rabba, Metro, Farm Boy, Foodland, Safeway, Pusateri’s, 88 Supermarket and Whole Foods. You could also use AMEX to purchase groceries through Instacart.